The Saint's Double Trouble

While some are better than others, pretty much all of the Saint films starring George Sanders are watchable at least once, even the lesser efforts. 'The Saint's Double Trouble' is a contender for the weakest of the series, and somewhat of a let-down after one of the best of the series with 'The Saint Takes Over'.

There are good things here. The sets are suitably atmospheric, it is one of the better looking films of the series and jauntily scored. The best thing about the film is Sanders, not just playing the title role but also his criminal double. He is super-suave, sophisticated and wonderfully caddish, while also giving a charming and humorous edge and delivering some cutting lines with aplomb.

Jonathan Hale is also very good, while the ending is effective.

On the other hand, the script is a complete mess and is enough to bring the film down more than one notch. It is just too underdeveloped and has too many loose ends, with a lot of corn and very little mystery. The story is also one of the series' least involving, it fails to maintain momentum and gets needlessly over-complicated with very few twists and turns.

It is interesting for featuring Bela Lugosi, who tries to depart from his horror roles to prove that he could do more than that. However he makes very little impact in a role with nothing to it whatsoever, a real waste. The characters are just not interesting at all and sometimes confusingly written.

In summary, a contender for weakest of the Saint films with Sanders. Sanders and Hale are fine but the script and story certainly aren't and bring the film down significantly. 5/10 Bethany Cox

There's a dead ringer for Simon Templar operating as a crime kingpin in Philadelphia…and he's started leaving the Saint's calling card at crime scenes. Will the real Simon Templar please come investigate?

Meanwhile, the Saint's old friend Inspector Fernack (Jonathan Hale) is on vacation in—you guessed it—Philadelphia. He stops at the department to visit old friend Deputy Chief Bohlen (Donald MacBride)—and tags along with him on a murder case that turns up the Saint's calling card. Fernack is on the job.

George Sanders pulls double duty as both Simon Templar and his counterpart, "The Boss" of Philadelphia crime, in this far-fetched but entertaining mystery. The hero's look-alike, and a single actor playing both roles, is not an especially unique idea; and this particular version of that old plot doesn't offer any special twists or turns. Basically, the Saint encounters mistaken identity, sets out to clear his name, runs into danger….

Sanders is, of course, very good. Hale is also fine as Inspector Fernack, and the picture's best scenes are mostly those between Sanders and Hale, as once again outward gruffness partly veils their mutual respect and admiration.

Bela Lugosi is a henchman with a thick accent; somewhat disappointingly, his role here is rather bland and Lugosi becomes just another actor. Helene Whitney is fine as an old flame of Simon's whose professor father is unwittingly drawn into the bad guys' plot; again, her performance is good but the role is rather predictable.

A rather slow middle section is redeemed by an exciting final third, culminating in a neat and clever resolution…. Overall: nothing exceptional but smoothly produced and certainly easy to take, especially for fans of the Saint or Sanders or B mysteries in general.

You have to be willing to suspend disbelief whenever you watch films like THE SAINT'S DOUBLE TROUBLE, in which GEORGE SANDERS (as "The Saint") discovers that the police are really looking for his exact double who's been committing a number of crimes involving diamond smuggling and a mummy from Egypt. To make sure that audiences know which man we're watching, they have "The Saint" whistling his famous tune as a sort of identification bracelet...but unless you're a fan of the series, you may be missing the clue.

JONATHAN HALE is a nice addition to the cast as Inspector Fernack who, for awhile, is just as confused as everyone else as to the identity of the real criminal. HELENE WHITNEY makes a bland leading lady as the blonde damsel in distress and BELA LUGOSI has a nothing role as a man called The Partner, a colorless part that could have been filled by any nondescript actor in search of work.

There are plenty of escapes for Sanders who is seen narrowly drowning when tied up in a motorboat, leaping onto the back of moving autos to keep track of the kidnapped heroine and making various narrow escapes from the law by devious means. It's his third time as Simon and he looks comfortable enough in the double role, although all the plot twists and turns are a bit hard to swallow with the police and the criminals being unbelievably dumb.

Summing up: Despite obvious drawbacks, it's a fun caper to watch and moves briskly toward a satisfying ending if you're a fan of the series.

Saint's Double Trouble, The (1940)

** (out of 4)

Fourth film in the popular RKO series is perhaps the weakest. This time out The Saint, aka Simon Templar (George Sanders), is wanted by the police for a string of robberies. He didn't actually commit the crimes and must prove his innocence by tracking down the thief who is his double. I made a major mistake by watching this film first from the series and I say mistake because after watching this many might not want to try the others out, which would be a shame as the series actually delivered some pretty good movies. This one here is without question one of the weakest as even Sanders appears to be bored out of his mind. The biggest problem is that the actual story is just too far fetched to be believed. Yes, I know all of these detective films require some wild things to happen but what goes on here, in terms of the double, is just silly and will have your rolling your eyes. Helene Whitney is also quite boring in her part but Jonathan Hale delivers some nice work. He also gets the best scene in the movie when The Saint is daring him to shoot him. The payoff here is quite nice. Bela Lugosi is wasted in his fourth-billed role. It's a shame they couldn't have spiced his part up just a bit. If you're new to the series you certainly won't want to start here. If you're a Lugosi nut just wanting to see him, forget about it because he isn't here long enough to do much. An all around disappointing entry.

This really is the worst Saint film starring George Sanders. The whole idea of the Saint having an exact double is not too credible but the filmmakers milk it for all it is worth. This results in a confusing film that is short on mystery and long on ridiculous coincidences. The crooks are a very stupid lot in this film. Even the presence of Bela Lugosi does nothing to help the film. He just turns out to be as stupid as the others. George Sanders does what he can with the limited script. He is as suave as ever as Simon Templar but flat as the head of the criminal gang. The scenes pairing Simon with Inspector Fernack(Jonathan Hale) are easily the best in the film. Sanders and Hale click well together as they did in their previous Saint films together. Too bad the story is such a let-down. Only worth seeing for Sanders and Hale. I give it 5 halos out of 10.